documenting my journey from a stable, professional career to a traveler around the world

Saturday, May 7, 2011

toughening up before the trip

I will inevitably be introduced to many different types of foods and I do intend on being adventurous and open-minded about trying the various cuisine that is available to me, yet I wonder if I will be able to stomach it all without hurling chunks onto the pavement of the street markets.

Two nights ago, an uninviting feeling in my stomach emerged after eating crawfish at the Boiling Crab in Garden Grove. I tried to recollect whether this feeling had to do with the hangover I experienced after the drunken night prior (or was it the absinthe flavored vodka?), or if it was indeed from the crawfish. I mean, when you really think about it, anything you eat at that restaurant is excessively unhealthy, despite how yummy it can be.

It was one of the most horrible nights where I would wake up every 30 minutes to vomit and diarrhea just so my stomach would feel minimally better. The next morning, I developed a fever of 103.4, chills, nausea, and the continued diarrhea. At least the vomiting subsided. My mind turned into panic mode once I saw my temperature and I went to see the doctor. After describing my symptoms to the physician and getting my stomach palpated, she explained that it was probably due to the crawfish. Although my parents and friends did not experience any of these symptoms after eating it, toxins, bacteria, and/or parasites can still be in the stomach lining of any individual crawfish. I took home a goodie bag of antibiotics and peptol bismol, and hopefully this will be the cure to my discomfort.

At least some of the benefits from this experience were:

1) I lost a few pounds

2) I tightened my abs from all the vomiting

3) I saved the cash I would have spent on any other Friday night.

And hopefully this has conditioned my stomach to be better for my trip?

Trying silk worms at a street market in Beijing, China - Summer 2006

And no, it did NOT taste good...

EDIT: 5/7/11 10:26PM

All I've had to eat so far are saltine crackers, jello, chicken noodle soup, and bananas. All I'm craving is a Big Mac right now........